Outcast: Alone When It Comes Review

Cinemax’s Outcast, season 2, episode 7, ‘Alone When It Comes,’ kept some interesting prospects in motion, toned down certain annoying bits, and had the feel of having somewhere to go & something to do – maybe before the end of the season, even.

So what?

So Kyle (Patrick Fugit) took his daughter & split town, again. He meant it, this time. He even got some extra savings, in the form of the estranged wife; but that was a heavy lift. She was still trying to be reasonable about all the crazy that’s been happening. Both Allison (Kate Lyn Sheil) & Amber (Madeleine McGraw) have been more annoying; so this road-trip could’ve been a lot more tedious.

Well, since that tedium had to go somewhere (like so much floating black), I guess Occupieds going full zombie-drone fit the bill. This road-trip was shorter than the last one; but at least we did get more Junkyard Bob (M.C. Gainey) out of it.

So this thing about a council came up, again. Darth Vader was the real Big Bad of Star Wars, but he still had to answer to the Emperor; so I guess even Sidney (Brent Spiner) needed a check to his power. Given how strong the passive aggression was, within Doctor Park (Hoon Lee), this council got some juice to it.

So with only the not-so-good Doctor’s word for it (again), Sid got dead-ended, and a clear rivalry seems to be up-and-running; but Sidney got a brand new hat, so we finally got to sit in on the Council convening. If anything, one particularly chilling moment, at the end of that scene, further suggested that the Creepy Kids shall inherit this story.

Whether Ginger Crisp gets to be a part of that: we’re being made to wait for this answer, for reasons.

So Megan (Wrenn Schmidt) got more off her chest – calling out Anderson (Philip Glenister), over his old Fire & Brimstone shtick – but this was a good thing. It was Anderson’s in for hyping the Lighthouse legion, and more Lighthouse legion means more Dakota (Madelyn Deutch), so even the one-of-us creeping on Megan made the whole thing worth it.

So Rose (Charmin Lee) followed up vigilante justice with trying on the family’s Detective pants. Timely, considering that former-Chief Giles (Reg E. Cathey) was now catching heat from his replacement, over that first thing Rose did. New Chief, Nunez (Briana Venskus), wasted no time throwing her weight around – bringing a whole new spin to the good-cop-bad-cop routine – while dropping a titular threat (title dropping seems to be a thing, with this series).

The Kat (Debra Christofferson) call-back showed just how far Rose was willing to take her new campaign; but while Rose has been riveting, her rampage-fu still lacks discipline.

There was a slight editing SNAFU during the road-block running scene; but it was good to see Bob getting stuff done, so not even Kyle’s martyr play completely ruined the exercise. The Occupied drones just letting Kyle strut, however, after all the trouble they went through to fence him in – I have no idea what the Farsi that was supposed to be.

So here’s where things seem to be, at the moment. Somewhere between Sidney driving under the influence (of hacking up black), and getting on the other side of Stranger Danger, Anderson’s got another date with the Devil. Given that the show has developed a musical captive chair dynamic, I suppose that was only a matter of time; but more points for the Lighthouse legion. Anderson can do worse than Dakota (and certainly has) – she’s been a good influence for everybody (foreshadowy side glare).

Somewhere between the Rose rampage, and some goodwill history, Giles may be on the cusp of getting some kind of local resistance going – as good a place as any to tie threads to Dakota’s Liberated Anonymous, and any monkey wrench Bob brings to the project.

It might just be me, but I think this episode gave us our best hint as to what the Merge is supposed to be. If it’s anything like I’m imagining, there may be flecks of epic to this story that could finally justify a premium channel budget (not HBO – I know – but still). Of course, that could just be hope whispering in my ear. We have a love/ hate relationship.

Kyle… is at large, with two less thing to loose. So he goes on the offensive, maybe – hope does funny things to critics off their snarky meds.

So word’s come down the intertubes that Outcast is on the Do Not Resuscitate bubble. If that turns out to be the case, then I can’t help but hope that all of these speculation points add up to something reasonably conclusive (if not at least mildly satisfying). In the event that another bag-holder ending has already been made, all of these developments could wind up going nowhere – often my least favorable destination.

So until I hear for certain, one way or the other, it looks like I’m going to have to manage my own expectations, again.

About the author

Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.